High School Of The Ice Age
by Awinnerwasyou
Summary: What if the end of the world wasn't bought about by a zombie epidemic, but a new ice age? How would Takashi and the rest of the group survive?
1. Prologue

**Yo! Been a while since I updated anything on here, and I'm sorry. I had a lot of trouble trying to make the main plot points of Rebellion Against Fate come together, and I've been completely unwilling to write anything over the last few months. Don't get me wrong, I do want to finish the story, but I still have a lot to figure out, so it's on hiatus for now. In the meantime, here's something new- A High School Of The Dead fanfic with a twist.**

**The twist? There aren't any zombies. Instead, this finds the HOTD crew in a very different apocalypse- one where the entire world has frozen over. The idea for this one came shortly after I heard that England would see snow as early as October (And I really hope that's not the case…), and I thought "Hoo boy, we're heading for a new Ice Age, aren't we?" At that time, I also had the HOTD anime on my mind, as I've been watching it recently, and before you knew it, both thoughts came together, and thus, High School Of The Ice Age was born. Other details on this fanfic will come in later chapters. **

**Just to tease you all, here's the prologue. It's very short, but I can assure you the first proper chapter will be much longer. This is pretty much a take on the opening part of episode 1 of HOTD, and the first chapter will take heavily from episode 1 as well. From chapter 2 onward though, I'll be doing my own thing with this story, though there will still be the odd element from the anime thrown in there. One more thing- This story is rated M for strong language and occasional strong bloody violence. Yes, there will be some gore in this one! **

**So, I hope you enjoy this all new fanfic!**

**Disclaim****er- I do not own High School Of The Dead.**

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><p><em><strong>Prologue<strong>_

I stayed up late the night before everything came to an end.

At the time, I had no idea that the next day, I'd be running for my life. Trying to escape from them. All the while, looking around as everything I once knew disappeared. And it was happening so fast…

"Takashi! Behind you!"

Rei's warning came just as a bigger chunk of ice crashed near my feet- making a big enough impact to knock both myself and Hisashi off our feet. We landed on the snow, which was at least a few feet deep by now. Not wanting to stick around before any ice decided to land on our heads, I got back on my feet, and helped Hisashi back on his.

"Hanging in there?" I asked, grabbing hold of Hisashi again.

"I've been better…" he replied, weakly. He was pretty badly frostbitten. We needed to get him some help as soon as possible. The school seemed so close, yet so far. The blizzard was making everything much harder to see- I wasn't even sure if we were going in the right direction. Why am I even thinking about all this right now? We need to move, and now!

"Rei, keep going!" I shouted. "We need to keep going, or we'll either freeze, or get our heads smashed!"

"R-right." said Rei, breaking into a run again. I followed suit as more ice rained from the sky. They weren't as big as the one that just floored Hisashi and myself, but they'd still easily kill anyone who got in the way. The wind started to pick up again, really badly too. And to make matters worse, the blizzard was only intensifying further. The temperature's dropping fast… So cold…

Suddenly, I heard something behind us. Really big. Like a…

"GET DOWN!" I yelled, grabbing Rei and throwing her, myself and Hisashi onto the floor- just in time to avoid the school bus which I saw on the field a little earlier, and the wind had blown straight in our direction. The bus bounced on the ground a few times, flipping over several times in the air as it did so, before landing and sliding on the ground. It quickly came to a stop when it smashed into the side of the school. We looked at the burning, overturned wreckage, and within seconds, it exploded. As Rei and Hisashi looked on, I looked around me. So many dead people… Most of them killed by the falling ice. Some may have even been killed when the bus crashed into the building. We weren't going to last much longer ourselves if we stayed still like we were right now. Just half an hour ago, everything was sunny. Hot. A typical summer day. But now… It looked like we were in the Antarctic. I couldn't believe this… What the fuck…

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?


	2. Chapter 1

**With chapter 1 now complete, the story now begins properly. I've also rewritten the prologue ****slightly, so I suggest reading it again even if you already did so earlier. **

**A few notes about this fanfic- firstly, there will be a couple of OCs, one of which is very important to the storyline. You'll learn a little about him in this chapter, and he'll be properly introduced in chapter 3. However, I won't be going overboard- apart from him, and one other character, the rest of the cast will be exactly as they are in High School Of The Dead. Also, Most of this story will be told from Takashi's point of view, with the exceptions of chapters 2 & 3. These two chapters will be told from the perspectives of Saya and my OC respectively. I'm doing it like this as I felt it would be the best way to introduce the rest of the main cast and bring them together. From chapter 4 onwards though, the rest of this story will be told from Takashi's POV.**

**You'll probably notice that the film The Day After Tomorrow played heavy inspiration on this opening chapter- namely, the scene with the giant hail stones falling on Tokyo. My version is just a touch more extreme, though- in fact, I won't deny most of this chapter is quite preposterous. So just try to suspend disbelief while reading this. After all, no one in the story knows how any of this could happen, either! **

**Anyway, here's chapter 1. As ever, please read and review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Of The Dead.**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter one- The Beginning Of The End (Takashi)<strong>_

Rei Miyamoto… I can't remember how long I've known her. At least since we were five, I think. I still remember that day when she said to me…

"Of course we'll get married some day!"

We were still so young then…

"Really? You mean it?" I said, still so full of enthusiasm.

"Of course!" said Rei, holding out her little finger. "Pinkie promise!"

"Yeah! Pinkie promise! Cross my heart, hope to die!" I said, putting my own little finger around hers.

That was such a long time ago, and so much happened since then. I started to think back to the end of last term…

"You have to repeat the grade again? Why? You're a straight A student." I asked.

"You wouldn't understand." said Rei, as she walked off. Never understood why she acted like that. She'd been pretty distant lately, and I wondered if that was why. Then I found out she was dating my best friend, Hisashi. I asked her about it, and mentioned the promise we made back when we were kids.

"I'm sorry." was her reply. "There was a time when I really felt that way about you, but you never seemed to notice…"

I cut myself off at that point and stared into the clear sky. Just another boring summer day. Too damn hot, as well. Looking down, I saw the PE class working out. I gave a sigh and slouched on the staircase banister. Pinkie promise… Cross my heart and hope to die, huh? Yeah, right…

"Geez, you're so stupid! Don't you ever get tired of feeling sorry for yourself?" said a loud voice right next to me. I didn't turn to look at the girl with glasses and pink twintails who was standing beside me.

"What do you want, Takagi?" I asked.

Saya Takagi. One of the smartest students at school. A self proclaimed genius. And one of my classmates.

"I came to find you. You're so predictable. Every time your little world crashes around you, you come to this same stupid staircase to mope about it. It's so pathetic." said Saya.

"Shut up, Takagi. You wouldn't understand."

"Oh, I understand, all right. You can't keep standing there looking depressed just because your girl left you for someone else. Besides, if you had the guts to be more open with her, you wouldn't have lost her in the first place. That's your problem- you have no guts. You know who you need to be like? Sir Bernard Cunningham. You know, the famous explorer who trekked across the entire Arctic circle on his own?"

"I know who he is. I also know he happens to be here today for some kind of talk, or workshop, or whatever… You interested in that kind of stuff?"

"Not really, but he's definitely an inspiration. There's a reason he's considered a hero. He's been everywhere in the Arctic, and without any help. Can you imagine how tough it must be to be in a place as cold and dangerous like that on your own?"

"No, and I can't say that I really care. It's not like I'm going to the Arctic any time soon…"

"Ugh, that's not the point, dumbass. What I'm trying to say is, Cunningham did what he did because he had the guts to do it. If you had anywhere near the kind of spine he has, you wouldn't have lost Rei. Just man up, already! Otherwise you won't amount to anything. Well, you'll amount to even less…"

I said nothing.

"Fine. Have it your way. Too bad Cunningham's speaking to some other class, not ours. You could learn a lot from the guy. You seriously need to grow up. Stupid…"

With that, Saya left. About damn time. Why's she such a douche to me, anyway? Guess it doesn't matter. Who cares?

Suddenly, I felt a small gust of wind blow in my direction, which made me shiver. Brrr, that felt cold. Almost wintry. That can't be right. It's summer at the moment. Ah well, it was probably just a one off.

Just then, I felt something fall on my hand. As I took a look at it, I noticed that it was a… snowflake? What the hell? Another one fell onto my hand. This is starting to get weird…How can there be snowflakes at this time of year? Certainly didn't hear anything it on the weather report this morning. I saw a few more snowflakes fall. Okay, now I know something's wrong. Wonder if anyone else has noticed? I decided to head outside to the car park so I could get a better look at things, but everything looked clear. Was I just imagining it? Geez, Takashi, you're cracking up, aren't you? Just then, I heard a voice behind me.

"Takashi! Hey!"

I turned around and saw Rei and Hisashi.

"Oh… Uh, hi. Fancy meeting you guys here…" I said. With my mind still mostly focused on the snow that fell, I looked a little confused when I spoke. Something Hisashi was quick to pick up on.

"You know we both hang around here at break." He said. "Hey, are you okay? You look really out of it."

"Uh… I guess so." I said. "Did you guys notice anything weird a few minutes ago? Only I just felt this gust of wind, and it felt really… well… cold."

"Kinda hard not to miss it, it was a pretty big one. And you're right, it was pretty cold." said Rei. "But that's all you're concerned about? A little wind?"

"Not quite." I replied. "This is going to sound crazy, but I thought I saw a few snowflakes as well. Only a few, but I'm sure they were there."

"You think so?" said Hisashi. "I mean, you know it's summer right now. Won't be getting any snow for a few months yet."

"Yeah, I know." I said. "You know what, just forget I said anything. I was probably just hallucinating. So, you guys heading back to class with me?"

"You serious?" asked Rei. "You never show up to class on time. You really must be going nuts. Wait- what are you doing, Hisashi?"

I saw Hisashi open his bag and take out his iPhone.

"Just going to check the weather." He replied. "Whether or not Takashi's making it up about the snow, that wind was a little unusual. I just want to see what the weather report has to say."

"You can get the weather from that thing?" I asked.

"There's an app for everything." said Hisashi, tapping the screen a few times.

"Hey, you do know it's against the rules to use a phone on school property, don't you?" said Rei.

"School rules are made to be broken, right?" I replied.

Suddenly, Hisashi's expression turned to one of shock.

"Wait a second… that can't be right…" he said.

"What's going on?" asked Rei. "If you're just doing this to wind up Takashi, then-"

"Trust me, I wish I was." said Hisashi. "Take a look at this."

He showed us the screen. On it was our location, and the temperatures for the next seven days. We looked at it, and…

"WHAT? No way! This thing's got to be broken!" I said.

"Last time I checked, it wasn't." said Hisashi. "Unless there's something seriously wrong with whatever reads these things, this is the forecast for the week…"

For each day, the temperature read no higher than -10 degrees centigrade.

"How's this even possible?" I said. "I mean, temperatures like this at this time of year?"

"I dunno, but if this thing's right, I don't think you were going crazy after all…" said Hisashi.

"B-but… didn't the forecast this morning say it was going to be sunny and hot all day? Where did this come from all of a sudden?" said Rei. As she spoke, I suddenly noticed something it was getting dark. REALLY dark. Looking up, I saw some seriously huge clouds. Around me, I could see the leaves on the trees rustling. I could feel it. I wasn't the only one. A light breeze was blowing, and it had everyone's attention- so much so that everyone stopped what they were doing. And slightly- just slightly- the temperature was dropping.

"Attention, students!" came a voice coming from the intercom. "A severe weather warning has been put in place. All students and personnel outside school grounds must come inside immediately. Everyone inside, go to your classrooms and remain there. Do not under any circumstance go outside. I repeat, A severe weather warning has been put in place. All students and personnel outside school grounds must come inside immediately. Everyone inside, go to your classrooms and remain there. Do not under any circumstance go outside."

That was when it began.

"You heard him." said Hisashi. "We need to get inside, now!"

No sooner had he said that, the light breeze became a heavy wind, and with it came a ton of snow. Everyone around us looked at what was going on. I heard a few voices, some wondering what the hell was going on, while others jumped up and down excitedly at the prospect of snow. But that joy would soon be shattered.

"So, no bullshit?" I said.

"No bullshit…" said Hisashi. "Come on, let's go inside before it gets even worse…"

"Uh… It might be a little late for that…" said Rei, who was pointing in the direction the wind was blowing. Hisashi and I turned around, just in time to see a hail stone the size of a basketball smash down on the ground near us. What the hell? I looked to my left, and saw a student fall over- hit on the head by another, smaller piece of ice. Wait- is he…? I rushed over to him, and saw a small pool of blood by his head. My god, he IS dead… I looked back up, and saw everyone else running away in a panic- running away from the hailstones that were now raining down. Shit… Snow AND hail? What kind of freaky ass weather is this! Several more hailstones started raining down, some of them either hurting or killing anyone unlucky enough to get in their way. Many of the cars around us were also being wrecked by the hail.

"RUN!" I shouted, running in the opposite direction of the wind. Rei and Hisashi followed close behind. The blizzard was starting to gain even more pace, and as I looked down, I saw the snow had already begun to settle on the ground. The only parts of the ground that wasn't white by now were where everyone had been running and leaving footprints. The three of us weaved around the cars in the car park while trying to get away from the hail, until we reached the wall at the end that divided the car park from the PE area.

"Now what?" Asked Hisashi.

"I guess we jump over." I replied. "Come on, we can use one of those cars to get over." I climbed onto the roof of the nearest car, jumped up, grabbed the top of the wall and vaulted over it. Rei and Hisashi quickly followed suit, and once together again, we continued to run towards the nearest entrance to the school. I continued to look around at the carnage around us. Many people, student and teacher alike, lay on the floor, either hurt, or dead. Most of those that were hurt didn't last much longer, as they were unable to avoid any more of the falling ice. Looking to my right, I even saw a piece of ice the size of a large pebble go straight through some guy's head. Dammit, this is insane! What the hell's causing this? Looking back at Hisashi, I saw him looking at his iPhone again.

"Hey, is this really the best time to be looking at that thing?" said Rei.

"Sorry, but I just downloaded a thermometer app." said Hisashi. "I want to see what the temperature is right now."

"What's it say?" I asked.

"Minus one. We need to get inside quick, before we freeze to death!"

Hisashi wasn't kidding. It was already freezing. I put my arms around myself, hoping to generate a little more heat. As we continued to run, I noticed someone had carelessly parked a bus on the field. No idea what that was doing there- maybe whoever was driving it got out and left it there after the weather changed. Can't think of any other reason. While I was thinking about this, Rei came to a stop.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"This…" said Rei. "Isn't this where the swimming pool is supposed to be?"

"Should be." said Hisashi. "It can't have frozen over already. Is that even possible?"

"Then… that must mean the water underneath is already freezing." I said. "We should keep away from here-"

Before I could finish, another chunk of ice came hurtling towards Rei. She managed to avoid it, but as she did, she stumbled onto the thin ice that covered the water. Since it hadn't completely frozen over, it was still thin- and about to crack under Rei's weight.

"Rei! Get out of the way!" yelled Hisashi, handing me his iPhone before running towards Rei, grabbing her, and throwing her over to me, away from the thin ice. I caught her as she came to me, but what about Hisashi- he just put himself in harm's way… Unfortunately, there wasn't anything we could do but watch as the ice around his feet collapsed, dropping him in the icy water…

"Hisashi!" yelled Rei. This was bad. He was just about keeping afloat, but in water that cold… I had to help him. I ran over to where he was, and was about to grab him- until I suddenly froze. Like a part of me didn't want to help him. I mean, it was because of him that I lost Rei, right? Why should I help him?

"Takashi!" Shouted Rei. "What are you waiting for? Get him out! He won't survive in there for long!"

For fucks sake, Takashi, now's not the time for that! This isn't the time to be petty! C'mon, get Hisashi out of there! But doesn't he deserve this? No! He doesn't! But if he drowns in there, won't I have Rei to myself? But he's still my best friend. I can't abandon him like this… The more I wrestled with my conscience, the more Hisashi was losing his struggle to stay topside. God dammit, why am I acting like this? Because he betrayed me. What kind of friend does that? No! It's not Hisashi's fault! Besides, no one deserves to die like this! But after what he did… No, I have to save him… But…

"Takashi, please!" screamed Rei. "Please don't let him die! I-I'm begging you! Please don't abandon him! Oh god, his head's just gone under… Save him!"

That does it, I'm not standing for this shit anymore. I don't care what he did, he's still my friend, and he doesn't deserve this! I quickly put my hands in the water and grabbed him. Within a few seconds, I managed to pull him out. Holy shit, that hurt… Good thing I was able to pull him out quickly, or I would have had serious frostbite there… I rolled Hisashi on the floor, and took a good look at him. Jesus Christ… His hands and face were almost completely red, apart from a few white blotches on his skin. Some parts even looked like they were bleeding… The good news was, he was still breathing. The bad news- He was in really bad shape.

"Hisashi! Are you okay?" said Rei, who ran over to us. "Oh, god… That's… disgusting…"

"Yeah. Looks like severe frostbite." I said, just as Hisashi regained his senses.

"U-uuuuhhhh… Takashi… Rei… Oww… Why am I… hurting so much?" he said.

"Frostbite. You spent way too long in that water…" I replied, as Hisashi tried in vain to get up.

"Ow! I can barely move…"

"We need to get you to the infirmary as soon as possible…" I said, grabbing Hisashi and throwing his arm around my shoulder. "Come on, it shouldn't be much further now. Just hang in there. You'll be okay, I promise."

With that, I ran towards the school carrying Hisashi, with Rei following us close behind. I told him he'd be okay, but I was starting to doubt those words. It was still freezing outside, and Hisashi's clothes were wet as well, which couldn't have helped his condition… My own hands were fairly numb from being in that water for less than half a minute, so god only knows how badly he would have been affected…

Why didn't I help him sooner?

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><p>Following the bus crash, we headed towards it- after all, it crashed into the side of the school, so hopefully we could find the entrance close by. Or maybe it made an entrance itself… As we approached the side of the building, I looked around again. Even in this blizzard, I could still make a few things out- in particular, many of the windows had been smashed by the freaky hail. Even once we went inside, it looked like we'd still have to go further in to avoid the cold. Speaking of the hail, it seemed to have stopped, although the wind was still heavy. If it did this to a bus, what would it have done to the vehicles in the car park? Most people in there who avoided the hail would probably have been killed by those instead. I really hoped there weren't that many casualties. Who am I kidding? It's doubtful anyone outside other than myself, Rei and Hisashi were even alive. And the fact the three of us were still alive had to be a miracle… Not that Hisashi was in great shape himself, of course- he was shivering badly. I was starting to doubt his chances of staying alive even further by now. At this point, Rei was holding on to him as well, as I asked her to. Finally, we reached the overturned, burning wreckage. Getting fairly close to it, the fire warmed me up slightly.<p>

"Ah, that feels a little better." I said.

"I know we're cold here, but shouldn't we get inside first?" asked Rei. "Look, the bus smashed a hole into the wall. We can get in through there."

"Good find." I said. Mind you, it was a lot more than just a hole that bus made- when it exploded, it took most of that part of the building with it. Still, let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. We made our way in through the hole. Finally, we were inside! But the wind was still blowing in. We needed to find somewhere warm to stay…

Rei looked to her right, where the wreckage was, and gagged.

"What's up?" I asked. I turned to where Rei was looking, and saw that by the bus, were several charred corpses…

"T-there were people in that bus…" said Rei. "I think some of those who were in the building might have been crushed when the bus crashed through the wall, too. This is horrible…"

"Wonder if those in the bus were trying to escape the blizzard? Not that it would have done much, since the hail would have broken the window anyway… Come on. We need to get Hisashi to the infirmary, then find some place warm. It's still too cold to stay here."

Before Rei could say anything, Hisashi tried speaking.

"T…Tak…ashi… Rei… I… can't…"

He sounded really bad, like he couldn't talk properly.

"Hisashi! Stay with us!" I said.

"I's… too lay… I'm… finish… I feel… whas the word…"

"Save your strength, Hisashi. Please…" said Rei. "Shit… he sounds confused, and he's having trouble talking. It looks like he has Hypothermia…"

We sat Hisashi up against the wall. Hypothermia, huh… Dammit…

"Take it easy. You'll make it through this, I promise." I said.

"Please, Hisashi…" said Rei.

"Takasi… Plea… Rei… tay… care of… Rei… look… after… her… Taka…"

Hisashi closed his eyes for what would be the last time. He slumped onto the floor. I checked his pulse, and felt nothing. He was dead.

"Hisashi? HISASHI! NO!" cried Rei. She sat by him, sobbing for a moment or two. I stayed silent for the time being, until Rei spoke again.

"Takashi… You… You… BASTARD! WHY DIDN'T YOU PULL HIM OUT OF THAT POOL WHEN YOU HAD THE CHANCE? WHY… why did you wait? Why did you just stand there, doing nothing? He needed you… He died because of you… If you pulled him out immediately, he could have… he could have…"

"Rei…" I could see her face covered in tears.

"Wait… That was why… You hated him, didn't you? You hated him because he was dating me. That's why you left him in there for so long. That's it isn't it?"

I said nothing. I didn't know how to answer. I didn't hate Hisashi for what he did, but I was pissed off at him. I couldn't completely deny his death was my fault. Deep down, I knew that Rei was right. Hisashi did die because of me. The only reason I didn't save him immediately was because I was angry with him. And look what happened… How can I live with myself? I turned around and headed back outside.

"Wait- where are you going?" said Rei.

"It's obvious you don't want me here." I replied. "I'm going back outside to see if there's anyone still alive, and get them to safety."

"Are you crazy? It's too cold- you won't survive out there for much longer! Do you want to end up like Hisashi? I don't want to lose you, too. Please, Takashi… Stay with me… Please…"

I turned back around and put my arms around Rei. She put hers around me, and we held each other. For someone who'd been out in the cold for so long, she felt warm. At this moment, even while everything was going to hell, this was a moment more tender than any I've ever had in the past. Hisashi told me to take care of her, didn't he? I decided that honouring his last wish should be the only justification I had for staying alive. For that sake, I had to survive. And I'd make sure Rei would, too.

On the day everything came to an end, I let my best friend die, and I held the girl I loved for the first time…

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><p><strong>Well, that's that for this chapter. I won't lie here, but I have a feeling that it's unlikely Hisashi would have died that quickly from hypothermia, or even if he would have even got it so quickly. I did read up on the facts about Hypothermia beforehand, but it didn't seem to do much good from the looks of it. In any case, I hope someone will correct me on the details. And if I am way off on my facts, I may just rewrite this chapter and kill Hisashi off differently. If I do, I'll make sure to let you know.<strong>

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter regardless, and stay tuned for Saya's perspective on this big freeze. See you then!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Here's the second chapter for your reading pleasure. As I mentioned in the last chapter, this chapter shows the end of the world through Saya's point of view. It begins right after Saya's conversation with Takashi, and will introduce several key characters. I'll admit, I enjoyed writing this chapter. Saya turned out to be quite a fun character to write for. Who knows, maybe one day I'll do another HOTD fanfic told entirely from her point of view…**

**In any case, I hope you enjoy chapter 2 of High School Of The Ice Age. And, as ever, please read and review!**

**Disclaimer- I do not own High School Of The Dead.**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter two- The Beginning Of The End (Saya)<strong>_

If there's one thing I hate more than stupid people, it's stupid people who can't admit it. I'll give Komuro some credit though- at least he knows he's stupid. Having known him since kindergarten, I should know that much about him. Maybe if I keep at him, maybe he'll actually smarten up. Maybe I'll even stop dissing him. But who am I kidding? Until he grows up and gets over losing his girl, he's just gonna waste his life brooding over it, and he'll never get anywhere in life. Don't know why I even care, really. It's not like he'll take me down with him. Damn… Sure is hot at the moment… How fun it will be to spend the next few hours in a hot, sweaty classroom with the sun shining in. And by fun, I mean annoying. I'm really gonna need to put the fan on when I get home…

I walked into my classroom and dropped my bag under my desk, ready for our next lesson. Despite break not being over yet, I saw a few people were also present. Amongst them was Kouta Hirano- the chubby kid who everyone picked on. Well, he was an otaku shut in. What did you expect? Acceptance? I briefly looked at the other few people in the room and sat down. God, I hope the rest of this day goes quickly… It wasn't long before the rest of the class had shown up, with the exception of Komuro, as usual. Although… No sign of Hisashi and Miyamoto, either. Well, I was sure those two would be here soon- they were rarely late… Hmmm… It seemed a little darker outside than it was a few minutes ago. Odd. No one said anything about rain today. Probably nothing. Suddenly, I felt a slight shiver. Eh? What was that? Is it getting colder in here? No way, that's impossible. It couldn't possibly be-

"Hey, it's getting really dark out there." said one of the students, who was looking out the window. The majority of them left their seats to take a look, leaving just myself and Hirano sitting down. They were right- it was only getting darker. Why was that?

"Hey!" I said, also getting up from my seat. "Maybe you guys should all sit back down. Class is starting in a few minutes. And looking out the window won't do your grades any good."

"Yeah, but it's not every day the sky gets this dark, especially during Summer." said another student.

"And the weather report said it was going to be sunny all day today!" said another.

"It's probably nothing. " I replied. "Maybe just a thunderstorm, or something. The weather report isn't always right, you know. Maybe it's something to do with the pressure from all the heat we've been having all week. That's all it most likely is. Unless you have a better explanation as to why it's suddenly gone so black out there?"

As I expected, no one even tried to explain it. As everyone went back to their seats, I shivered again. No way… The temperature was going down. Something wasn't right here. Maybe I was wrong about this just being a thunderstorm. If it was, there's no way it would get this cold. Dammit, I hate being wrong! Just… What the hell… It was at that moment when I heard the intercom- and the message that came right before everything ended…

"Attention, students! A severe weather warning has been put in place. All students and personnel outside school grounds must come inside immediately. Everyone inside, go to your classrooms and remain there. Do not under any circumstance go outside. I repeat, A severe weather warning has been put in place. All students and personnel outside school grounds must come inside immediately. Everyone inside, go to your classrooms and remain there. Do not under any circumstance go outside."

A severe weather warning? So something big was definitely coming our way. The question is, would it be a thunderstorm, like I predicted? It would only be a few seconds before I got my answer…

"Hey, look! It's snowing!" said one of the students, excitedly. Snow? At this time of year? Don't be ridiculous. That would be geologically impossible. By now, all the other students were gathering by the window again, with the exception of Hirano again. Pffft, fine. Might as well take a look for myself. I made my way over to the window and squeezed myself in between two of my classmates to get a good view. WHAT THE… It IS snowing! Really hard, too. At this rate, it'll only be minutes before it settles… What could possibly be causing this? I seemed to be the only one who was wondering what was going on, though- everyone else apart from Hirano were getting pretty hyper, some talking about having a snow day or two, and others saying stuff about making snowmen, and having snowball fights, or whatever. Idiots… Just then, we all heard a loud smash- one which shut everyone up. They all paused- and so did I, if I'm honest- and looked at the big crack that had just been made in the window. What could have caused THAT? I looked out of the window again, and saw a freakishly huge chunk of ice smash into it, causing another crack. Jesus Christ, what is this? Everyone else just stood there, looking at the window and starting to panic as even more ice smashed into it. I turned around and saw Hirano trying to leave the classroom- what the hell was he doing?

"HEY!" I shouted as I made my way over to him. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"Uh… Out of here." said Hirano. "I-it isn't safe here. I don't think that window's going to last much longer. And when it does, the wind'll come in and it'll bring more of that hail with it…"

"Don't be stupid!" I said. "Whatever it is, it can't be hail. It doesn't get that big!"

"I-I know…" Hirano replied. "But I don't think that's going to make much of a difference. It looks pretty dangerous either way-"

At that point, we both heard a huge SMASH, and we both peeked back inside the room. The window had finally been smashed to bits by the freaky ice chunks that seemed to be raining from the sky, and as Hirano said, the blizzard had now made it's way inside. A couple of the other students had been knocked down by the ice chunks that also started flying in through the broken window, and everyone else realised that staying where they were wasn't the smartest idea. Maybe Hirano was right. It was far too dangerous to stay here. Before either of us knew it, the rest of the class charged out of the room, though some of them also fell victim to the heavy ice that was raining down on us. I grabbed Hirano and flung him beside me, just in time to avoid the stampede. It looked like they weren't the only ones- I looked down the hall, and saw the other classes run out as well. Guess both the blizzard and the ice got through to their classes as well. This must be happening in the other floors, too… It was getting even colder, too. Of course it would- there was a heavy wind, it was snowing, AND it was coming into the school as well. Unbelievable. Just… Unbelievable. I needed to get somewhere safe, and I had a feeling I knew just where to go…

"What now?" said Hirano.

"We need to get away from this crowd." I replied. "Then we should get to the other end of the school. If the wind is coming in from this direction, it should be considerably weaker there. Also, given the trajectory of the mini icebergs that are being thrown at us, they shouldn't have smashed any windows there, either. It's the best place for us to go. Come on."

"You sure about this?"

"Probably not. Given how screwy the weather's acting right now, the wind could change direction at any time and start blowing some ice in the opposite way. However, I think it's safe to assume for now that the wind's only blowing in one direction, which means that the other end of the school is safe. For now, at least…"

"Wow. You really know a lot, Takagi."

"Of course I do. I'm a genius, after all. But we're just wasting time here. Let's get going, tubby."

"R-right…"

Wait- did I just let Hirano tag along with me? Grrr, hope I don't regret this…

* * *

><p>There were still too many people around panicking in the corridors for us to get anywhere, so I stupidly thought that the first floor would be a better place to move around more freely. But, of course, it wasn't. Because that was where everyone who had been outside- everyone who had survived outside, that is- were coming in through the main entrance. So if anything, it was even more crowded. And since the doors were open, it was arguably even colder down there than it was on the second floor. Though that may have been more to do with the fact that the temperatures were still dropping. Either way, Hirano and I had even more trouble getting around than we did before. Wonder if anyone else is trying to get to the back of the school? If so- and I would hope they're not stupid enough not to- that would only make things harder, since all the crowds would be there too… There was still a lot of panic in the students in the corridor- after all, the cold wind was still coming in through the broken windows, and it was still raining ice on us. What puzzled me was the fact that some of the chunks were bigger than some, others smaller. Why was that? And how could it possibly be raining ice in the first place? In addition, the floor was starting to get covered in snow, due to the blizzard. Hmmm… I haven't seen Komuro at all since all this started. Wonder if he's okay?<p>

"Is something on your mind, Takagi?" said Hirano, making me jump. N-no, I wasn't worried about Komuro, honest!

"U-uh… Yeah." I said. "Just wondering what the hell's going on…"

"That makes all of us, huh? Man, I didn't think this could happen so quickly…"

I didn't answer. But he was right. It's just gone from summer to winter at the drop of a bat, and with no prior warning. Is it even worth trying to think about? It's only giving me a headache…

"Hey, take a look over there." said Hirano again. He pointed me in the direction of the main entrance, where we were standing fairly close to. There were still some people coming in through it, which was good. Wonder how many more were killed, though? My attention quickly turned towards two figures heading towards the entrance, both very close to one another. One was a sharply dressed man with slick black hair and glasses. That was Mr. Shido, one of our teachers. Never really liked him that much, to be honest. The other person was a student carrying books with him. Really nerdy looking guy. At that point, the dorky student tripped over and fell. Crap, he's going to be a sitting duck on the floor like that…

"M-Mr Shido, help!" the student cried out to Mr. Shido. "I sprained my ankle! I-I can't get up… I don't wanna die…"

Mr. Shido turned and looked at the fallen student and moved over to him.

"You can't get up, you say?" He said. "Well, too bad. You're obviously too weak to survive in a world like this anyway. We need strong people, who has the courage to stand up to what the world throws at them. And you… You are nothing."

With that, he raised his foot and stamped once on the poor kid's face. He fell to the floor, crying as Mr. Shido walked away and into the school. Just a few seconds later, his head was smashed by another falling piece of ice, spraying blood all over the white snow on the ground. My god… I couldn't believe what I just saw.

"That asshole…" said Hirano.

"Yeah, I'll say." I said. "I didn't like that kid, but still… What right did Shido have to do something like that?"

We both watched as Mr. Shido looked at the students who had gathered around the entrance, shivering.

"You know you all shouldn't be near here where it's still cold." He said in a tone which dripped faux concern. "I wouldn't want you all catching a cold now, would I? However, I commend you all. You managed to survive in such terrible and unexpected conditions, and for that, I applaud you."

Shido was now clapping his hands at the other students- a gesture that impressed them.

"I think you all have what it takes." He continued. "You are the very people this world needs. It seems that everything we once knew has come to an end. All there is now is an endless blanket of ice. Only the strong can survive in such a world, and I genuinely believe that you are all more than qualified to be strong enough."

Geez, how flamboyant is he acting right now? And the stupid kids were taking it hook, line and sinker, starting to fawn over him. Did they remember what he did to that nerd just now? What was wrong with them?

"Follow me, my students." He finished. "Come with me, and I guarantee you will make a difference in this new world!"

New world, huh… That made me think if all this was happening elsewhere, not just Japan.… But in any case, I'd seen enough. As Shido and his new fan base made their way down the corridor, I turned the other way.

"Huh? Where are you going, Takagi?" asked Hirano.

"As far away from that jackass as possible." I replied. "God only knows what he's trying to pull, but I don't want any part of it. Maybe it'll have quietened down a little upstairs…"

* * *

><p>"H-hey! C'mon Takagi, can't you slow down a little?" said Hirano.<p>

The two of us had gone up to the third floor of the building, which by now was more or less empty. Or at least, the corridor we were moving along was. There were a couple dead bodies lying around- obviously killed by the ice chunks… A few blood splats here and there, too. Ugh… Never thought I'd see anything like this in my life… Also, the blizzard was coming in pretty hard through the broken windows, so it was freezing as well. And Hirano was complaining most of the way, too. Geez, the only reason I'm carrying this lardass around with me is because I can't find Komuro anywhere… After his latest complaint, I stopped and faced him.

"Let me ask you something." I said. "Look to your left. What do you see?"

"Uh… A smashed window." Hirano replied.

"Exactly. Now, what is coming out of the window?"

"A heavy wind and a blizzard."

"Very good. Now, what else has this crazy weather been throwing at us?"

"Those ice balls?"

"Well done. Last question- is it warm in here with this wind and blizzard coming into this corridor?"

"No. It's freezing."

"Well, congratulations. Now you know why I'm moving so damn fast. Because I don't want to be buried in snow, freeze to death or have a collision with a mini iceberg. Or all of the above. If you don't want that either, I suggest you get a move on too."

We moved a few more paces, until…

"Say, Takagi?"

MUST… RESIST… URGE… TO… MURDER… HIRANO…

"What now?"

"Do you have a cell phone on you?"

"Of course not! I'm a straight A student. And even if I did, who would I call?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe the Police, or something."

"God, you're so stupid. You honestly think no one else had the same idea? Yet, do you see any police here? Or hear any sirens? Think about it. This can't just be happening around the school- it must be happening all around Japan as well. And if that's the case, there's going to be a lot of panic on the streets. The police most likely have their hands full just keeping things under control. The truth is, they're too preoccupied to come for us. Besides, what are they going to do- arrest Mother Nature?"

"Well, what about the ambulance?"

"They won't be going anywhere in this snow. Not unless they can fit snowploughs on them in five minutes. Or grit the roads, for that matter. No one's coming for us, Hirano. Just accept it."

We turned around the corner and started our way down the next corridor. About halfway down, Hirano opened his mouth again. Doesn't he ever shut up?

"You know, I've been wondering, Takagi. Why are you helping me?"

Geez, why'd you have to ask me THAT?

"Because I'm such a nice person." I answered.

"Yeah, I can see that…"

I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. Eh, probably not. Couldn't care less anyway. Hmmm, that wind was starting to pick up even more, now. This was going to get even worse, I was sure of it. No sooner had I thought that, than we heard a loud crash outside.

"What was that?" asked Hirano.

We looked outside the window, and saw a bus bouncing on the ground. It wasn't heading towards us, thankfully- it was moving to the left of us. But it was still going to smash into the side of the school- right where we just came from in fact. The bus finally landed on it's side and slid straight into the side of the building, making enough of an impact to shake the ground slightly where we were. Then, it fell quiet. I had a bad feeling about this…

"Hirano, run!" I shouted.

"But I…"

"No buts! Just run!"

We ran down the corridor as fast as we could, but it was only a few seconds after we started doing so before the bus exploded. The explosion didn't reach us, but it did shake the place up enough to knock us both over. Unable to keep my balance, I stumbled backwards and banged my head on the wall.

"Ow! Son of a bitch…"

I felt the back of my head. There was a slight bump, but nothing serious.

"You okay, Takagi?" said Hirano, who had picked himself up and made himself over to me.

"Just a bump on the head." I replied. "I'll be fine. Never you mind."

"Maybe you should see the nurse about it…"

"About a tiny bump? Don't be stupid! It's not like I'll get a tumour from this, you know! Idiot…"

"It might not be a bad idea anyway. You should at least get some ice to put on it. Come on, the infirmary isn't too far from here."

"Hirano! Wait a second!"

Too late. He was already on his way to the infirmary. Why is he with me again?

* * *

><p>I followed Hirano to the infirmary, which, as he said, wasn't very far. My head was aching a little, though that was probably more due to Hirano than the bump on my head. Still, did we really need to come here? *Sigh*, I guess we should get this over with… I suppose if nothing else, it's a little warmer here than it is elsewhere in the school. Hirano knocked on the door.<p>

"Oh, come in!" said the ditzy sounding voice from inside.

"Uh, hey, nurse Marikawa!" said Hirano as we entered the room. "Takagi just bumped her head. Can you give us-"

He stopped mid sentence. Not that I could blame him. The sight that awaited us as soon as we entered the infirmary wouldn't have looked out of place in a war movie. There were injured students everywhere, some of them moaning in pain, others looking dead. Just how many people got hurt in this weather? Just one student seemed to be tending to the injured, while the school nurse herself was searching the cupboards for medical supplies. It was obvious they had both reached breaking point in this room.

"Just forget it, Hirano." I said. "They're far too busy giving first aid to these guys to take a look at a measly little bump. We should just go."

"Ummm, Do I know you from somewhere?" said the nurse. "You look familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it…"

Ugh. If there was ever a myth about school nurses being busty blonde bimbos, then Shizuka Marikawa did nothing to prove said myth wrong…

"I'm Saya Takagi…" I said, as calmly as possible.

"Oh! So it is!" said Marikawa. "Sorry. I didn't recognise you because you're wearing glasses today."

She didn't recognise me because I was wearing glasses? Geez, what an idiot!

"Oh yeah, I meant to ask you about that." said Hirano. "I didn't know you wore glasses."

"It's just for today." I snapped. "I misplaced my contact lenses this morning, so I had to make do."

"Well…" said Hirano, who looked like he was sparkling slightly. "I think you look good in them. It really suits you, you know?"

I found myself blushing at that remark for some reason.

"S-shut up!" I said. "Who cares if I wear glasses or not? This isn't even the time for this conversation, anyway!"

My attention turned towards all the injured students.

"These people all got hit by that freaky ice storm?" I said.

"I'm afraid so." said Marikawa. "As you can see, there's too many of them here. I wish I wasn't the only nurse here…"

"It's bad all right." said Hirano. "Just wish I knew first aid. Maybe then I could help."

"Well, you don't." I said. "Too bad you spent more time studying guns in your spare time, huh?"

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"It's open. Come in!" said Marikawa.

The door slid open to reveal two figures bringing in another injured student. And I recognised them both immediately…

* * *

><p><strong>And that's all we have time for today. Who are the two mysterious figures at the door? All will be revealed in the next chapter, where we see the world end from one more character's point of view. After that, the main bulk of the story will begin. See you then!<strong>


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